10/29/2015 - International Students Visiting Genesis Christian School in Nashville, GA

08/20/2015 - Future of STEM OPT

From NAFSA.org: "In an August 12, 2015opinion and order, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia found that DHS' failure to provide notice and invite public comment at the time of the 2008 STEM OPT extension rule was "a serious procedural deficiency" that merits "vacatur" (i.e., rescinding, setting aside, annulling) the STEM OPT extension. It is important to note that the court found that establishing the STEM OPT benefit itself in 2008 was within the scope of DHS's regulatory authority, and that the court's decision to vacate was based on the procedural deficiency only. The judge's vacatur order specifically references only "the 17-month STEM extension described at 73 Fed. Reg 18,944 (Apr. 8, 2008)," and so it is unclear what impact, if any, the order will have on parts of the 2008 rule other than the 17-month STEM extension. In any case, DHS has been working on publishing a new STEM OPT regulation to cure the procedural defects of the 2008 rule and to address other issues raised with STEM OPT."

Commissioner Rob Mikell, Department of Driver Services (DDS) and He Beom Kim, Consul General of the Republic of Korea, signed an agreement today to exempt South Korean citizens who have a valid South Korean driver’s license from written and on-the-road testing when applying for a Georgia driver’s license. Those Georgia residents living in South Korea will be afforded the same privilege from South Korea. Click here to read more.